Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani says as president he’d promote a "culture of personality responsibility" by taking steps to encourage adoption as an alternative to abortion — a move Giuliani says is "consistent with a culture of life."
"We will look for the common ground that people have in this whole issue, which is a very difficult one about abortion where people have very different views — moral views and the common ground is almost all people agree that we should reduce the number of abortions as much as we can, consistent with respecting people’s rights and keeping government out of that kind of decision-making," Giuliani said during an interview Monday evening. "One of the ways we can do that is by increasing adoptions."
Giuliani would make permanent a $10,000 tax credit for adoption expenses and he’d also leave in place current restrictions which only allow federal funds to be used to pay for abortions in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is threatened by the pregnancy.
"I believe that’s a fair balance," Giuliani said. "It allows states to make different decisions…meaning people can effectuate their will better."
Some of Giuliani’s Republican competitors have said their party should not nominate a "pro-choice" candidate like Giuliani who does not share the "pro-life" views articulated in the party’s platform. In a Giuliani campaign document released Monday, adoption was called a "compassionate alternative for women facing the decision of having an abortion" and the document went on to say that "as a society, we can help foster a culture of life by providing additional options."